Japanese gin, tea blend & tonic water — Tiya SF
Japanese gin (produced by distilleries like Roku, Ki No Bi, and Suntory's Roku) uses Japanese botanicals — yuzu, cherry blossom, cherry leaf, sencha green tea, gyokuro, sansho pepper — alongside the classic juniper and coriander. The tea blend (likely a mix of green and oolong for floral and grassy complexity) amplifies the botanicals already present in the gin. Where the Indian G&T is golden and warm, the Japanese G&T is pale green and cool — the same format, completely different in character. Tiya serves both side by side as a study in how the same cocktail template yields entirely different expressions from different botanical traditions.
Japanese gin (especially Roku) is designed for G&Ts — it is lighter and more floral than London Dry and integrates beautifully with tea. Don't brew the tea too strong or too long — it will make the drink astringent. Cool the tea completely before using. Yuzu peel gives the most authentic garnish; lemon zest is a fine substitute.
Add 5ml yuzu juice for a citrus-forward version, or 5ml ginger syrup for a ginger-yuzu Japanese G&T.
Tiya takes the intersecting immigrant histories of San Francisco's Japanese and Indian communities and distils them into a cocktail menu. Each drink is named after a San Francisco neighborhood, building a portrait of the city through layered flavour — yuzu meets curry leaf, matcha meets chai, Calpico meets tamarind. A genuinely original vision in American craft bartending.
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